Bean Trees Chapter 11


Chapter 11

  1. Where does Lou Ann get a job?
  2. What are the working conditions at this factory?
  3. Why is Lou Ann so worried about Dwayne Ray?
  4. Although Lou Ann may worry too much about Dwayne Ray, what is the positive side to the worry?
  5. What evidence is there that Lou Ann is a very good employee?
  6. Why does Sal Monelli strike terror into Lu Ann’s heart?
  7. Why are Esperanza and Steven to be moved to a safe house in Oregon or Oklahoma?

Cultural and Historical Allusions

  • salsa
  • sweatshop
  • cigar box
  • Keno girl
  • Gypsy
  • yurt
  • Mongolia
  • Siberia
  • Mongol nomads
  • hot-air blimp
  • Immigration Services
  • Navajo Reservation
  • deportation
  • plugged nickel

Medical, Natural, and Geographic Allusions

  • Chilies
  • garlic cloves
  • cilantro
  • Liberty, Kansas
  • Siamese twins
  • frontal lobes
  • double rainbow
  • squash
  • underwater earthquake
  • cicadas
  • Pekinese
  • salmonella
  • pinewood

Great Quotes

  • “‘Is it better to be totally retarded and deformed and miserable, or just plain old dead?’
    ‘I honestly couldn’t say,’ I said. ‘Not having been either one.’ Although, when I thought about it, being dead seemed a lot like not being born yet, and I hadn’t especially minded that.” (153)
  • “I didn’t want to believe the world could be so unjust. But of course it was right there in front of my nose. If the truth was a snake it would have bitten me a long time ago. It would have had me for dinner.” (159)